BENS5121 Aquatic Parasitology (2 cr)

Students will recognize different taxonomic groups of parasites infecting fishes and freshwater mussels, and learn the life cycles of these parasites. Lectures (5 h). Ice-fishing (2 h). Hands-on laboratory work; examination of fishes, examination of mussels, identifying parasites, counting parasites (14 h). Collection of data and analysis of results (5 h). Presentation of results and discussion (2 h). Before this 4-days course, students should go through the following materials: 1) Video on examination of fish for parasites, 2) Video on examination of freshwater mussel for parasites, Collection of photos of fish parasites (pdf) and Collection of photos of freshwater mussel parasites (pdf).

Students will recognize different taxonomic groups of parasites infecting fishes and freshwater mussels, and learn the life cycles of these parasites. After the course students are be able to make a parasitological examination of fish and mussel. After the course, students know the basic factors contributing to the abundance of parasites and evolution of host-parasite relationships, and how these are affected by seasonal changes in the aquatic environment, especially winter.